What was Davis’ mindset entering her UFC debut against Rosi Sexton?

“I hate to admit it because I said before the fight, `Nah – I’m going to be fine,’ but yeah, there were definitely some jitters. Not so much with the cage, but fighting in almost my hometown, and wanting my UFC debut to be an incredible fight that really puts my name out there. I still feel like I’ve accomplished some of that, but I really wanted to go out there with a big bang, and I imagine so did Rosi, and it turned into a tough fight. She’s a tough person to submit and I hate to say this, but she was a lot stronger than I thought she was. She’s a 125er and has fought even lower than that, and I’ve fought some big girls, so I didn’t think she was going to be as strong as she was, but she was a lot more than I expected. It was incredible though. I thought coming off several fights with Strikeforce this was going to be pretty much the same, and it was in the background and all of that, but to walk out to that crowd was amazing. The amount of energy was incredible. I can’t even put words to it.”

Davis compares the nerves from her first UFC fight to those now:

“I feel a lot more comfortable. Coming up to the last fight, I had a lot of pressure on me, and I’ve been trying to keep things more levelheaded this time around; not so much reading up on the hype that comes with it. I think with a lot of fighters – myself very much included – you read so much and everyone is talking about the view of all the women and the pressure that comes with it, and it can get to be too much. Thankfully, it’s leveled out a bit – there have been a lot of women’s fights and they’ve all been incredible, so I just want to do what I do and keep up the momentum.”

Davis is pleasantly surprised to see the UFC focus on the entire roster of women instead of only its biggest star:

“The amount of support the UFC has given the women’s fighters has been incredible, and I think it’s more than anybody would have ever imagined. They really have backed us all up when a lot of people were kind of afraid that it was going to be ‘The Ronda Rousey Show’ but that’s not the situation at all.”

Why is Davis so excited about the immediate future?

“I’m not gonna lie – I was like a little girl when I saw my picture on the poster; I was so excited. I had to send it to my mom and stuff like that. I really think that we deserve it though. Not to sound cocky or anything like that, but both Liz and I are great fighters, push the pace, and we’ll have a very entertaining fight. Once again it’s about the support. The UFC sees the potential in the women, and want to give people the most entertaining fights that they want to see, and that’s going to be our fight. We don’t disappoint. We all want a title shot, and every fight feels like you’re getting that one step closer, especially fighting a high caliber fighter like Liz, but I’m just really happy with the direction the UFC is going. There are so many great fighters, and so many more that we haven’t even seen yet, so who knows what’s going to come next and what’s going to happen?"

How does she envision her fight with Carmouche unfolding?

“She almost beat Marloes Coenen and had a great fight with Sarah Kaufman. When you watch her fights – even when she’s fought some of the top contenders – the majority of the fights she comes out almost winning. It just seems like the last round or the last couple rounds, she shuts down a little, and I think that’s going to fuel her fire more. I’m expecting a hard-fought bout and Liz to come out and fight. I’ve been looking at Liz for a while now, and I’ve said, `If I wasn’t fighting her, I’d be cheering for her to win’ because I like her fighting style – she’s very aggressive and she pushes the pace, and that’s what I’m expecting from this fight. I’ve been training cardio, cardio, and more cardio because if you watch any of her fights, she’s pretty much non-stop – she’s pushing you, adding the pressure, trying to get you up against the cage – so I’m expecting an all-out brawl.”

Female bantamweight Alexis Davis (14-5) has already accomplished a lot since first showing up on the scene in 2007. She owns wins over a number of her top peers and is one of the division’s biggest stars. However, Davis has an opportunity to take her career to the next level when he collides with Liz Carmouche (9-3) tomorrow night in the co-headlining clash at UFC Fight Night 31. If she wins, Davis could very well end up within sniffing distance of a title-shot. The 29-year old recently spoke to UFC.com about the fight, also elaborating on her initial experience in the Octagon earlier this year as well as why she sees women staying on the sport’s biggest stage for years to come. (Photos by USA Today Sports Images)